DEER PARK, N.Y. — An SUV driver was drunk and speeding when he crashed into a nail salon, killing four people and injuring nine, on New York’s Long Island, police said Saturday.
Suffolk County police arrested Steven Schwally, 64, and charged him with DWI after the crash Friday in Deer Park.
Witnesses saw SUV swerving before crash
Schwally was driving a 2020 Chevy Traverse out of a Kohl’s parking lot on Grand Boulevard just before 5 p.m., according to police.
Witnesses said they saw the SUV swerving before it smashed into the Hawaii Nail and Spa across the street.
“It appears a motorist drove through the building, all the way through the building,” Deer Park Assistant Fire Chief Dominic Albanese said at the scene.
Authorities said several people were trapped inside the salon and needed to be rescued.
Four people killed, nine hospitalized
Nine people were rushed to nearby hospitals, including one who was airlifted. A man and three women were pronounced dead at the scene.
“It’s horrible. It’s going to be tough for the community, tough for the volunteer fire department, but we’re going to get through it,” said Albanese.
The names of the victims who died were not immediately released. It remains unclear if they were salon employees, customers or both.
“I don’t even know who’s gone, who’s not gone. I just keep picturing their faces in my head,” said Jasmin Darbouze, a regular customer at the Hawaii Nail and Spa.
Schwally, of Dix Hills, was hospitalized with minor injuries. He will be arraigned at a later date, police said.
